GlenDronach Octarine 8 Year

One of the most difficult Glendronachs to find nowadays is this 8yo "Octarine", a discontinued expression from one of the world's greatest distilleries. This almost rare expression, was exclusively released for the french supermarket chain, "Carrefour". It originally was 50-60 dollars, but now it goes for about USD.180. Bottled at 46%abv, tawny color. On the nose, its starts a little alcoholy, but also with a fruitcake note very appealing. It is like a plum dipped in wine. Lots of plum liquor notes. Peach halves and dehydrated fruits, raisins and cake. It is lovely on the nose. It is exactly a christmas cake. Panettone. After some minutes in the glass, it gave me the most amazing grated coconut note ever. On the palate; it is very enjoyable for a 8yo, but a little simple on the first sip. Peaches, hints of sawdust and hay. The second sip was much more oaky with less flavor and a little more roughness, but not in a bad way. Aftertaste is a little dry and woody. Dim salt, long finish, sawdust and new polished wood. Definitively this is the least likeable part of this nice single malt. Oakspice. The third sip gave me some of the missing fruitiness from the first two sips. Overall, for the original price and availability it had when it was released, this was a complete bargain and a great offering. Nowadays it feels more like a collector's item, and not the best deal if you drink it at today's cost. I believe that the aroma is by far the best part, it is really enjoyable. The palate and finish could be better, but then again, this is an 8yo, which is a little too young to extract all the flavors and aromas from a cask. My score for this nice whisky is 85 over 100.

Sharp & strong